Swim Away
by Laughing Jay
Summary: Eddward Vincent, a wanted man with a secret, finds himself injured while on his escape from hunters. Kevin, a nerdy boy with not much good in his life, finds this wounded stranger by the creek and helps him. Actions always have it's consequences, and this shark suddenly drags Kevin into deeper waters that Edd knew would drown Kevin one way or another. (Monster!AU, Rev!Kevedd)
1. Chapter 1: Falling

_Title: Swim Away_

_Rating: M (Mature, 18+)_

_Pairing: Reverse!Edd / Reverse!Kevin_

_Summary: Eddward Vincent, a wanted man with a secret, finds himself injured while on his escape from hunters. Kevin, a nerdy boy with not much good in his life, finds this wounded stranger by the creek and helps him. But these innocent actions have it's consequences when this shark suddenly drags Kevin into deeper waters, involving him in a game Edd knew would drown Kevin one way or another before he got out of it. If he was lucky enough. (Monster!AU_

_Disclaimer: R!Edd &amp; R!Kevin belongs to Asphyxion. I do not own any characters used nor the urban legend used in this story. _

**_Many Navajos believe firmly in the existence of skinwalkers and refuse to discuss them publicly for fear of retribution._**

There had to be at least a dozen men on his heels. Thier damned dogs barked menacingly as their jaws clashed against the other over and over with each bark. They drew dangerously close, and Edd knew they would catch up to him soon, it was simply inevitable. His feet, burning with the need for a moment of rest, dug and kicked into the dirt. His heels were numb and dull pain was beginning to subside as exhaustion kicked in. A thick fog of dust rose to the sky and mixed with his visible breaths of warm swirling clouds of air with the cold around him. His breathing was cut short and sharp as he inhaled the autumn wind that blasted through his clothes like bullets. The fugitive heaved, small cries broke through his lungs as they ached to breath properly. His long legs fumbled through the thick foliage and his hands were covered in scrapes and small cuts as a result of tearing through the bushes and shrubbery around him. Shouts and commands rung through the night sky and intertwined within the trees as his pursuers closed the distance between them. He felt like he was drowning, the fear of death yanking at his thoughts and the desperation to climb back to the surface, to pull through and dart away into safer, calmer waters. Of course, moments like that didn't happen often to a shark, but even then it was the one, stomach clenching thought that struck a rod of fear through him the most

**_They believe skinwalkers transform and walk freely, in secrecy, under the cover of night._**

A barking hound sprinted beside him, hideously large and coming too close with those clashing canines for Edd's comfort. The beast compressed and stretched his body like an accordion, getting the longest distance and building up his strength to make the strongest kicks to the ground in order to keep up with it's prey. The shark grimaced, knowing he would now have to make an even stronger effort and more of his dwindling energy to lose the canine hell bent on retrieving it's kill for his master. Edd kicked the ground with immense force and made a hard right, shifting his body weight to the side in one sharp movement of his upper torso. His lower body had a moment of trouble keeping up with his forced movement, causing Edd to suddenly feel the force of gravity take him under.

The world seemed to slow as it finally hit the shark that he was falling to the moist, cold ground, to his capture if he didn't act fast. His heart sunk and his blood ran cold at the thought. He shot his piercing cyan irises away from the dirt below him and to the path ahead of him. One chance, he would either catch himself now and break away, or fall to his demise. His hands shot out if their clenched position and towards the ground, hoping on everything he had in him that he would be able to beat gravity. His soft fingertips crunched into the dirt and sunk in deep as he struggled to push his muscles to their limit once more and lift his body weight in only a second. His shoulders hunched and his back muscles compressed as he shook in fear and exhaustion. One chance. Everything seemed to stop, every barking dog braking to a halt, every sprinting hunter slowing to a sudden stop. He could have sworn his jacket just grazed the soil beneath him. His legs fell behind clumsily as he leaned forward, balance hopelessly failing. His knee slammed and sunk into the dirt as he momentarily fell to a start position. One chance. Finally, bringing his leg forward, he groaned in determination and frustration as he pushed every muscle, every ounce of strength he had in him and launched off in a new direction.

**_A skinwalker is a man who has acquired immense supernatural power, including the ability to transform into animals._**

He heard it. The moment he's been begging for, a moment of struggle, a split second of confusion that seemingly gave the shark all the power in the world. Their dogs yelped in shock as their prey turned the tables before them and Edd's hunters all exclaimed in fury. His heart slowly recoiled back to his chest as a small smirk slid across his fear stricken facial features. He looked back a second to see the dogs had soon found him, though had fallen yards behind. It seemed like miles to Edd. He pushed off with increased force than before, hopes higher than ever and sprinting around and through trees, hoping to further confuse the canines. He kicked up dirt and leaves like it was his ammunition, and bounded like a wild animal caged for decades, finally free. His new found adrenaline flooded into his palpitating heart and pounded in his ears. Through the sound of barking and exclamations, it was then that he was sure he heard the rush of freedom. There was a familiar sense in the atmosphere, and his hunters sensed it too. Their shouts began to crack and desperation tore through their voices, commanding their dogs with increased intensity, and the damned leader of this wolf pack screeching to those omegas to fire their weapons. Even though the desperation and rarely heard fear in his voice, Eddward knew that weasels voice all too well. Edd's eyes looked ahead with intensity, pupils growing in focus. He heard it... The rumbling crash of water. At first he shook it off, focusing on his path ahead and maneuvering skillfully as he attempted to lose his enemies. Then it got louder, and he could feel it. He felt the slight shake beneath his feet and the taste of wild water melted on his lips. It was here, home was here and it was so very close. He laughed in confidence and sweet relief as he cackled to his hunters, showing them that the game was over, it was all over. Edd was sure he would be home free, the days and restless nights of fear were over. This was it.

**_It is believed that skinwalkers wear the skins of the animals they transform into._**

Eddward's skin rippled in goosebumps as he let his heart lead the way to home. He shook his jacket farther up his shoulders, it's leather like material clinging to him as if it needed him as much as he needed it. Metaphorically, it was Edd's lifeblood, it was everything to him, it was what made him who he was.

What seemed like hours later was really a split of time just under a minute as a large river came into his hopeful view. The racing waters and crashing currents was enough to bring forth a storm of adrenaline and cockiness to Edd. He looked back and smiled as his skin slowly faded to a dark grey, his jacket grew and molded with his body, his teeth sharpened, and with a final hiss, he jumped into the water, diving in as the rest of his transformation shot through. His chasing hunters all screeched their shouts of hate and defeat, their dogs all came to a halt and on command returned to their masters, and with the final thought of success, Edd swam away into the faster, deeper waters. His body trembled in adrenaline, excitement, fading fear, and the shock of his nerves surging to life as the cold water pricked at his skin. Every inch of him, every nerve, every pore, every small goosebump that rose on his dotted skin felt the icy water around him. He lived and breathed the element, he was always home within it, and he could trust it like no other. Of course, even that could have it's consequences.

**_These evil witches are typically seen in the form of a coyote, owl, fox, wolf or crow – although they do have the ability to turn into any animal they choose._**

The shark-boy was taking it easy for a minute or so, he stopped his swimming for a moment to regain some of his strength and energy, letting the river current carry him along as he breathed in the liquid ice and stretched his fins outward. He opened his solid black eyes to see the current he shot within had gotten stronger, faster, and even a bit dangerous. The bedrock was getting higher, closer, sharper as an outcome of the high erosion in this area. Alarm quickly struck him as he realized something was very wrong. Quickly he began to reverse his transformation and returned to his human form, struggling hopelessly to stay above the quick current and wary waters. His breathing became ragged, quick, and sharp as a very ominous crash in the distance could be heard. He knew he would have no chance at survival in his shark form for what was to come. The rivers speed continued to escalate as the rumble became faster, closer. He was hopelessly headed towards a fall, a very large fall. Edd panicked, whipping his head around left to right, in hopes of finding land close enough for him to hold onto, to save himself. The river bank was meters away on both sides, and the closest chunk of "land" near him were only the jagged rocks he was rapidly coming upon. He knew if he was to survive, he had to stop the speed of his momentum just a bit, just enough to the point where he could possibly swim to a shore before the fall meters and meters away. If not that, then he would have to land in a way for him not to be too terribly injured. He cursed under his escaping breath, knowing his demise or failure to keep afloat and conscious would mean his definite capture. His breath was swallowed in large gulps greedily as he heaved, wishing he could just breath in the water once more, but knowing if he was to fall prey to these waters by embracing his shark form and flew over the cliff edge, he would most likely fall at an inevitable angle that would cause him injury and send him into unconsciousness. He knew a sight like that on whatever bank he ended up on wouldn't go without some sort of commotion as to how he had gotten there. A commotion that would also lead to his damn hunters picking up his trail. It was just one of the many rules in this terrible game he played. Keep moving forward. Never make attachments. Always let the past go. He shook his head slightly, trying to focus on surviving more than outcomes and life lessons right now

**_According to legend, they are rarely caught, but those who do track a skinwalker..._**

Chances and risks, it was all a dangerous game. Locking his eyes on a target coming soon, he dove under and kicked, springing forward at just the right angle to grab the edge of a flat rock to hold him above the water. He kicked against the current, up and over trying to hoist himself up. He was at least 10 meters away from the drop, one slip at this point would surely lead to an inevitable fall. He groaned in exhaustion, it seemed his life was built on single chances. He pulled his shaking muscles, pulling his torso out of the water and continuing to claw his way over the rock. From here he could jump to the bank if he was lucky...

He brought his leg forward and clumsily attempted to climb over, strength giving way. He cried out through a cold breath in desperation, one chance. He dug his knee into a concave in the rock holding him up. He started to bring up his other leg when his knee jerked down and his grip slipped away. In one second, his world all came crashing down, he fell back rapidly, his back crashing into the water first as he fell backwards. He had only a split second to take in a small sharp breath before he was swallowed into the rapid waters.

**_...and learn of their true identity, pronouncing their name in full..._**

His lungs burned with the desire for more air, greedily pounding at his chest as he was shot back like a kite in a wind storm. His jacket rippled, he pondered for a second to transform and gain control before he felt an immense pain in the back of his head. His body came after, crashing against a rock with great force as he cried out, releasing all of his precious oxygen. His back arched in pain before he slipped off and continued through the current, the crash of the cascading wall of water getting closer yet slowly fading. His eyes grew fuzzy and black, and for a second, the water separated from him, the cold air coated him, and he felt like he was falling. Then, all sense fell as the world faded away.

**_... have the power to control and, if wished, could kill the skinwalker. _**

((Kevin's POV))

I can't decide what I'm running from. I mean, life is a hack, sure, but isn't the whole deal with it supposed to be adapting and moving on? At least, that's what I was told. Damn, if that was the case I don't even know how I've made it this far. Everything's a machine in it's own sense, it all has parts, it all has it different tools to fix it up and use it with, it all has it's own set of blueprints. Life was nothing more than a map that was just miles and miles long of subsections and instructions that in the end, only you had the choice to follow or not. Life was confusing, troublesome, and it always had a way of throwing you off.

I was out on a night walk, my green sweater was puffy and an underlayer of my favorite black turtleneck with it's oversized sleeves kept me warm as the night air swirled around me. I twiddled my thumbs within my pockets as I looked around, up to the sky with the moon reflecting off of my broken framed glasses. The fireflies started to dissipate and hide once more as summer left, but autumn always held that sense of warmth and sunlight. A few flickering yellow lights danced around with the cold air and the crickets chirped like a melody with every other nature made sound. I smiled, this was peace all in itself, a little piece of heaven. I often walked through these woods at night, the area was always too far from any homes or city for anyone to ever really be out here, and I was almost sure it was private property but who really gives a crap about rules these days. I mean, there's a rule for bullying and fist fighting right? Yeah.

I sighed, clutching my sleeves now as I willed myself to forget. Damn, life was tough to me. I took a deep breath, welcoming the open and calming night air rather than the stuffy circulating air within closed walls. I rubbed the back of my neck and looked around. I was near the creek, only about a quarter of a mile to the right. I leaned against a tree and slumped over, looking to that direction. I heard the humming water from here. Maybe I was just being childish, maybe I was thinking of just drowning myself, or maybe I just didn't want to go back to a cold and empty house, but something told me to head that direction. As if the world was whispering to me I would find something pretty life changing in a slow current of icy water and mud. I checked my back pocket for my knife I always carried, ease washing over me as I felt the warm handle. I exhaled slowly and continued further into the woods, hoping I wouldn't get lost in an unfamiliar area. Mom would be gone for the weekend, and Friday meant no school, no point in going home early, why not spend an hour or two more out here. I stepped over the crunching leaves and heard the crickets silence the farther I walked. The wind seemed to pick up and push at me, warning me. There was a suddenly ominous feel to the way the world rotated, the way everything seemed to freeze. I wanted to turn back, run home and cower in my sheets before I shook my head and realized how stupid I was sounding. Paranoia was always one of my worst traits. I stepped into a clearing, the trees all seemed to part away just for me as the creek slowly came into view as I stepped over the hill.

'Nothing, it's just water Kevin, quit freaking yourself out.' I mentally scolded myself. It was actually quite peaceful, there was no sound save for the running water. I walked along the bank, kicking at a rock beneath me and willing my mind to focus on serenity rather than struggles. The pebble below me was what held it all, I willed it all into that tiny rock before it became too much and I punted it a fair distance away. I waited for the satisfying plop into the water, but none came. Instead it fell with a wet thud and all was silent again. I assumed it just fell into the mud before I heard a heart stopping raspy groan. I yelped and looked ahead, the moonlight hardly lighting the world around me and trees shading almost everything. I stepped forward, looking in the direction I had kicked the pebble.

"Hello...?" I called. I was suddenly so afraid I had hit a bear or a mountain lion, something dangerous. At the same time though, the sound had no other origin than from a human. It had to be. I immediately reached back and grabbed my knife, flipping the blade forward and looked around. Once more there was a sound, an inhuman growl. I bit down my screams and attempted to silence my terror at that moment before I suddenly tripped and fell back, my knife suddenly escaping my grasp and bounding into the water. I shouted in defeat and frustration as I attempted to grab it. My hand reached out uselessly before I had the chance to realize something else had grabbed my ankle. I screeched and looked back, expecting some horrid chupacabra crawling on me. With the small moonlight we had, I saw a man... A teen weakly clutching at me. His eyes were half lidded and he was halfway in the icy water. I heard the raspy breathing coming from him and I jumped upon realization. I sat in silence, forcing my terror down as I froze, watching him. He breathed weakly and it then hit me that my ankle was soaking now with freezing water.

'Oh my god how is staying in that water like that!' I lept up, pulling my ankle away with ease as the stranger slipping into unconsciousness. I stepped over him and tried my best to hoist him up, I dragged him over the edge and onto the yellow tinted grass a yard away. I checked his pulse, it was there but faint. I checked his body for any wounds, lifting his arms and checking his torso, even lifting his shirt to check for any broken ribs or damaged skin. I resisted the urge to stare longer than I needed and continued, god what do I do! I attempted to roll him over before he woke with a sharp cry, cringing and grimacing in pain. Oh god how was I gonna get him out of here...

"H-Hey, my name is Kevin Barr, I just sorta.. Found you here and I'm just trying to help, I need to see if you're okay!" I informed, I guess some stranger feeling you out like that would be a bit weird...

"N... Don't need... Hel..." He rasped before slipping into darkness again. I shook him a bit.

"Dude? Hey! You alive!?" I swore to myself and continued searching, he must have hit his head... I placed a hand on his head and felt a warm spot, bingo. I lifted my hand as saw a plentiful amount of blood. "Shit..." I got up and looked around for anything that might help. "God what do I do!?" I shouted. Should I call 911? Man they would be too late by the time they found us, this is private property too... I got up and hatched an idea. I tore off my sweater and lay it on the ground beside him, then took off my turtle neck and slowly wrapped it's over sized sleeves around his head, removing his black striped beanie and cleaning the wound as best I could. He occasionally hissed in pain and groaned.

"Stop... Leave..." He whispered. I shook my head and furrowed my brows.

"Hey I'm gonna move you over, just hold tight, this might hurt.." I grabbed at his shoulders again and, with a groan, moved him over my sweater. He cried out in pain and breathed quickly through a grimace. I heaved a sigh and tried my best to lay him down gently, keeping his head elevated. "You're gonna be fine, I've got bandages and crap at my place, it's not too far from here..." I reassured. I used my sweater as a sort of gurney and pulled at the sleeves, pulling his body with it. I breathed heavily, it took all my force just to pull him, god he was heavy. I pushed myself, focusing on getting him back alive, the rest of the world seemed to silence. And through all that, one thought was always at the back of my head: I was hoping I wasn't pulling a dead man out of the water.


	2. Chapter 2: Kevin Barr

_Title: Swim Away_

_Rating: M (Mature, 18+)_

_Pairing: Reverse!Edd / Reverse!Kevin_

_Summary: Eddward Vincent, a wanted man with a secret, finds himself injured while on his escape from hunters. Kevin, a nerdy boy with not much good in his life, finds this wounded stranger by the creek and helps him. But these innocent actions have it's consequences when this shark suddenly drags Kevin into deeper waters, involving him in a game Edd knew would drown Kevin one way or another before he got out of it. If he was lucky enough. (Monster!AU)_

_Disclaimer: R!Edd &amp; R!Kevin belongs to Asphyxion. I do not own any characters used nor the urban legend used in this story. _

**Chapter 2**

There was hardly a moment I remembered after I jumped to the rapid waters, the stinging cold of the water was enough to temporarily shut down my nervous system throughout my shocked body. I do, however, recall falling to what I thought at the time to be my very likely death, only to wake later, still within the freezing waters and pulled out like a lost item. I remember the gleam of glasses and a green sweater. I faintly heard the stranger's voice, but I do know he heard mine, cold and threatening. I remember being dragged away, and as I was, I knew I would never see the light of day again. There had been no doubt, they found me. My own audacity and overly confident state of mind led me astray, I had believed I was finally free and didn't think things through, again. Now I sit here in my own darkness and weak state, injured and hopeless. Consequences had a habit of finding you no matter the situation, I of all people should have known that. I should have known better, I shouldn't have let fears blind me, I could have made a cleaner escape. I had every reason in the world to focus, to find a right frame of mind and calculate according to the situation, and yet I gave into fear and freedom like a child.

I haven't opened my eyes, or given the hint that I was slightly conscious yet, but it was more for the fact that I would most certainly wake in a test chamber than for who would be waiting there when I arose. I heard the small shift of clothes against each other, and a scratch against skin. The stranger beside me breathed almost anxiously, quick yet light, like a child. My breathing, on the other hand, was very slow, faint even to myself, and my body ached like a cold had succumbed my burning muscles. It was nothing new, but the sharp throbbing pain in my head and back was. I wanted to shift but I knew such an action would only send bristling fire-like pain up my weak body, a reaction that would send me arching and sure enough draw attention to the stranger holding me captive. So I lay still, focusing on slowing my panicking heart beat. There was a tight pressure around my head, it felt like bandages, but I wasn't too sure. I didn't have any IV's or any sort of equipment in or around me for that matter. There was a light over me, warming my cold skin with an unfamiliar serenity to it, but I knew better than to find comfort in this condition. They had me right where they wanted me, and I couldn't begin to think of how far I was from any cities or towns. Escaping wouldn't be easy, nearly impossible in fact, especially as injured and aching as I was. I hoped they would at least have the mercy to give me something for the pain, I could only imagine the extent of my injuries.

I heard the soft shuffle of a page, the crispy crackling of a new book being pulled back and cracked at the spine beside me, along with the light scuffle of nervous legs jumping to distract the owner as they waited for their new catch to wake. I was being watched, contained like fish bait and put off to the side until I was useful. The thought made my stomach turn, what exactly could they have planned for me…

I then heard this mystery human rise and walk out of the room with a slight drag. He sounded injured, or tired, meaning not very fast. With any luck, if I allow myself to heal just a bit longer I might be able to make a run for it. I released a breath I had seemingly been holding in the entirety of my waking and finally had the nerve to observe my surroundings, look for an exit if I could. I opened my eyes, and I was immediately blinded by the bright, golden light of the sun.

((Kevin's POV))

He hasn't woken up yet… and it's Sunday. I found him Friday night after school, meaning he's in a coma, a vegetable, or I really, REALLY should have taken him to the hospital. I'm not the best in first aid, in fact most of what I know is from my own personal experience of constantly cleaning up the daily scrapes of bullies and tormentors. It wasn't much, if anything it barely made do for myself, so patching up someone in most likely critical condition was admittedly not my best decision. I realize I should have probably taken him the the hospital but…now, I don't know if it would have been a good choice either. See, I saw something that night, while dragging him home, I saw something… strange. I still can't tell if I was just imagining things out of panic, or if I'm losing my mind entirely. It almost made me want to run like hell, and I won't lie when I say I stupidly froze in fear instead of doing something about it. As I was dragging this mystery guy in my makeshift gurney, I saw him shift. I was still a quarter of a mile away from home, when suddenly he jerks wildly, like this wild animal. If you've ever seen a snake get hurt, or a fish out of water, that's really the only way I can describe it. I thought he was having a seizure. I froze and just watched, stupidly not thinking, 'hey, I should probably do something about this!'. He arches and squirms before suddenly, his head whips up to face me, his eyes open and pitch black. He snarled like an animal ready to attack, the sound making me sick to my stomach. He sounded like he was gurgling on mud, and his teeth broke through the dark of the woods like skylights, white and as dangerous as surgeon tools. My heart, I swear, stopped. I wanted to run, desperately, and I can tell you now with certainty that the only reason I didn't was because I was so caught in absolute fear. His eyes then scanned over me before half lidding, and his body fell limp again. I stood there for minutes more, waiting for a movment and telling myself that if I just dropped him and ran, I might still have a chance of making it home. As soon as my heart finally subsided into a steady beat, I shook the 'gurney' slightly, making sure I wasn't about to be mauled by an inhuman beast, and continued on, dragging with my arms burning for relief and my head throbbing in thought.

Now it's Sunday, I'm downstairs making a sandwich with shaking hands, and my mom is of course at work. My homework is done, has been done since friday afternoon, and there's a stranger, a teenage boy who looks like he's probably killed a man in his lifetime, in MY bed. None of it made sense, but like I said, life always has a way of throwing you off.

I smushed the top slice of bread over a healthy portion of tuna and lettuce. Checking my watch, it was barely 9:20am. Lunch for breakfast, why not, nothing else seemed to make sense anymore, why should food schedules. I thought over the past few days, finding some strange kid, bandaging him, watching him sleep, changing his bandages, sleep… something I got very little of. In fact, I'm almost sure this small sandwich is my first bite of food since Friday. Sighing, I took my first step on the stairs, when I heard the unmistakable sound of a cry in pain from above me.

((Edd's POV))

The extent of my injuries were far worse than I could have anticipated, but that could be from lack of proper treatment, leading to infection or inflammation. I attempted to sit up when a blinding pain from my upper back held me firmly in place. I instinctively cried out, cursing under my breath. I was practically immobile, paralyzed. The blood under my skin sang in agony as I lay back down. There was a biting throb at my feet and head, and my stomach felt like snakes were inside them. Anxiety clung to me like a disease as I willed my head to once more cease the thoughts and negativity flooding into it. What was I going to do? This couldn't be it… That's too many years of precautions, planning and altercations to have gone to waste now. This couldn't be it. I sat in silence for a moment, willing myself not to panic and cause more stress to my already exhausted body. Quietly, I heard my observer, my watcher behind the door. It was then that I realized I was in a room, a bedroom. With the little movement I had, I looked around. It was messy, full of papers on the walls with scribbled nonsense and sticky notes, the drawers around me could hardly close properly with clothing protruding from every which way. Dust hung loosely on the fan above me, obviously neglected from cleaning for quite some time, the whole room was. This truly was a nightmare.

Quietly, the stranger knocked on the door, standing uneasily for a moment. My stomach hardened as if stones were pelting my insides. I grimaced, shutting my eyes and biting the insides of my mouth out of habit.

"Hello?" The voice persisted, slowly opening the door. He poked his head in, looking my way with wide eyes and an etched frown. I turned my head to him, keeping my eyes half lidded to appear calm. He didn't have a lab coat on, but it could easily be a trick. I never was one for violence, in fact I've never engaged in a fist fight in my life, but even now all I could think of was to kill this… boy, and get out of here. Survival instincts kicked in like adrenaline, and I was ready to jump out of the window beside me if I needed to, even though I knew I would only reach some other capture. I wondered if I was miles below the earth's surface or somewhere equally as containing. The young watcher stepped out from behind the doorway and closer to me. Immediately I recognized him from a dream like event from days earlier, strangely enough. I recognized his dark rimmed glasses and familiar red cap. He once more wore a green shirt and looked to be about me age, if not younger.

"Hey.. Um, I'm Kevin- "

"Barr." We both said in unison. I remember now, he was the reason for my capture. He pulled me out of the water and carried me through the woods. I was hardly conscious for the second half, but I remember him leaning over me, checking my body for wounds and telling me who he was. After that I blacked out, and the gleam of glasses was all I could remember. The boy standing before me then and now jumped at the sound of my voice. He approached closer slowly, swallowing hard in anxiety.

"Y-yeah. That's my name. Um… Are you feeling better or anything? I mean should I call someone or…" He continued on innocently. I sneered at his naive performance and mask of innocence. Any second now these walls around me would fall to reveal a lab or containment unit, anything. I couldn't even begin to prepare myself for whatever horrors may be awaiting me. My voice was hoarse and dry, my throat felt like it was filmed over with dry paper. I glared at him with the darkest glare I could manage and shook my head.

"If this is your attempt to sway me from thinking what's to come isn't inevitable, you're wrong. I'm already in a position of immobility so you might as well get it over with." I whispered. He stood back with a puzzled glance.

"I'm… Not sure what you mean." He disgustingly tormented. His face wore a frown that almost seemed believable. "I just... I don't know if you remember this or not but you were at the edge of the woods about a mile out there," he motioned to the north of me. "You were in this freezing cold river and bleeding. I didn't know what to do so I brought you here, I know I should have brought you to the hospital but-"

"That isn't what I mean you pumpkin headed fraud. Stop with the games, tell me where I am and what you plan to do with me!" My voice cracked and shrilled in every which way. I desperately wanted to move, to get at least a bit more intimidating and sit up.

"I think you're in shock or something. Your at my HOUSE, in my BED, whatever you're thinking of that's after you, it's gone, you're safe here. I just wanted to help, you would have bled out if I left you, and that would also probably make me a murderer… plus you still haven't eaten, or drank anything unless you count the amount of river water in you, so just trust me." The teen pleaded. I turned my head to the sky and shut my eyes tightly, once more biting the insides of my lips, anxiety rising again. I suppose it could be possible, being found along the bank of the river connected to the waterfall I so stupidly fell into. It was a believable story, the only part not being so was how this scrawny boy somehow carried me to this very room.

"Even if I was to believe you, what purpose or drive did you have to help me. You must want something." I hissed. At this he looked up.

"A thanks would be nice."

I blinked, not realizing just how hostile I was actually being.

"...thank you." I quietly grumbled. He nodded and stepped back, taking a seat in the chair beside the bed.

"So… Why so hostile, you being followed? Do you have family or anyone to go to?"

"That's a suspicious question there." I replied quietly, trying to tone down the mean flare in my voice until I found out just what happened.

"Okay… We'll start easy then. What your name?"

"Eddward."

"Last name?"

"You're getting too close again."

"Fine. Eddward, the guy I found half way in a river and paranoid out of his mind seems like enough information for me to go off of." I snickered at his exhaustion.

"If you were in my shoes you'd expect nothing more." The boy, Kevin, turned his face to the door and sighed.

"Well.. My offer still stands, are you hungry? I have tuna made and you sure as hell could use some water."

"Language, and… Yes, I think that actually might be best." He grinned and stood up.

"Okay well... Wait here, you shouldn't move yet. In fact, remind me to change your bandages when I get back." He smiled nicely and left the room. Once more I released a breath I was clutching in, inflicting pressure on my already bruised lungs. I decided reluctantly to trust this boy, what do I have to lose anyways. He seemed nice enough, and he had the heart and seemingly brains to take care of my injuries. I just needed a week to replenish my health, fluids and heal, then I would leave, no attachments, no strings attached.

"Kevin Barr…" I whispered the name that sizzled on my tongue. As much as I didn't want to think of it, I hope my association wouldn't cause his causality.

\- wow! This story has been quiet for a while... Im experimenting, and I hope you like it. Please review , it means bunches!


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